A: 6. I was watching a Chiefs game, we were in Arkansas at the time, and I said, “Dad, I want to play in the NFL.” I remember that like it was yesterday. There was something about football that I was always drawn to. I always loved roughhousing, I guess. That’s probably Dad’s fault, throwing pillows and whatever (smile).

Q: Will you crack jokes in the huddle?

A: (Laugh) No, I won’t crack jokes, but I like guys to be loose. I don’t want guys to be tight. I want people to have fun, and so I think it’s more of the attitude at which I come in to the huddle: “All right guys, here we go.” It’s kind of something that I’ve said on a regular basis coming in the huddle. It’s a loose, but it’s also focus, if that makes sense. But we’ll smile, we’ll have fun.

Q: Butterflies, nerves?

A: You know what? Because the Rams week [first career start Nov. 23] I really wasn’t. I was very calm, very confident about the game plan and executing. I just didn’t know what to anticipate, it was that feeling. National anthem I’ll get some butterflies and stuff, but then, as soon as that first whistle blows, it’s kind of doing what you’ve been doing your whole life.

Q: What is your leadership style?

A: I want to be a servant leader. I think that’s one of the greatest things you can be. And that kind of encompasses multiple things, but one being: I’m going to do something first before I ask you to do it. I guess in a way, I’m never going to put you in a position that I don’t feel like that we can be successful, I guess.

Two, I want to be first one, last one out. Every time you come in here, I’m already in here. I like that work ethic, grit, kind of get it done kind of thing, and I think that’s part of being a servant leader, is that it’s not telling somebody, “Hey, you got to get up here and watch film,” and you’re not up here watching film. So it’s kind of a two-fold thing. But I like that leadership, and like a loving, charismatic guy, you know? I’m going to love on you, if you do something wrong, slap you in the butt, we’re going to get them again. Because nobody’s perfect, so I’m not asking you to be perfect, just asking you to give me effort, and wanting to be here. Because I think I have that same mentality.

Bryce Petty goes over some plays with the Jets coaches during Monday’s loss to the Colts.Paul J. Bereswill

Q: You seem to have the perfect temperament for this market. Do you agree?

A: (Laugh) Shoot, I have no idea. It’s been interesting because I’ve kind of been in the back seat this whole time. I think the best thing that I have is just that I have the ability to compartmentalize, control what I can control. I don’t really look at outside things, I don’t worry about outside people. I have a circle, those are the guys that I trust, that I love on, that I lean on, and that’s my support group. They also know who I am and …

Q: Who are you?

A: (Laugh) We’re still trying to figure that out. That’s the best part about life is that it’s going to give you hard times, it’s going to give you ups and downs, and who you are through those times reveals who you are when you’re 80 years old, and you get to sitting on a porch drinking coffee. You know, you can look back and say, “Man, I did it right.”

Q: Brett Favre was your guy. If he watches you on Sunday, what would you want him to say about you?

A: Shoot, that’s Mini-Me (chuckle). I think that’d be great. What I loved about Brett Favre was just the fact that every time that dude stepped on the field, you could tell it’s exactly where he wanted to be. He loved it, he had a passion for it, he was always joking with his guys. That’s what I want.

This game is so short in the grand scheme of things. It’s going to be here after I’m done, it was here before I got here. You can have relationships with guys that will be lifelong, and that’s the part that you always hear about guys that retired, that’s the hardest part, it’s the locker room. There’s a certain culture here that you can’t get anywhere else. And so, that was something that I always enjoyed watching him, he was always kind of goofing around and cutting up with his guys, and he made football fun, fun to watch.

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Q: What will Sunday be like in Midlothian, Texas, where you went to high school?

A: (Laugh) I don’t know. There’s definitely added Jets fans in Midlothian, I know that. They’re gonna have to put the Cowboys stuff down for a little, and grab some green.

Q: What do you know about the city of San Francisco?

A: I know there’s a big bridge. … There’s a lot of hills, I think, big hills, right? It’s where “Princess Diaries” was shot. The movie.

Q: You’ve been there, right?

A: [QB guru] George Whitfield was training [Andrew] Luck [in Palo Alto, Calif.], so when he wasn’t on the field with Luck, I’d get an hour or two, a little session in. And then one of those days we went out to Alcatraz, and did that thing.

Q: What did you think of Alcatraz?

A: Oh, it was great, it was great. It was like an eerie great, I guess, you know? (Smile). Probably some crazy dudes in there, but San Francisco’s great, the city’s awesome.

Q: What is your game day routine?

A: Get there when the first bus is supposedly supposed to be there. Kind of walk around, have a cup of coffee, stretch out a little bit, go warm up, and then to get ready to play. I’m not superstitious about anything. I don’t have little quirks, or a little something I do. Really just hang out, admire the guys’ outfits when they come into the locker room, that’s a pretty fun thing to do.

Q: Who’s got the most outrageous outfit?

A: [Matt] Forte. I wouldn’t say outrageous, but I mean it is very slick. … Every time Forte comes in, it’s gonna be gold shoes, or it’s going to be something.

Q: What is it like standing in the tunnel before you’re about to go out?

A: Really just try to focus, and it’s not necessarily like trying to run through plays or anything like that. Normally, I take a couple of deep breaths. It was kind of funny, (smile) Dad was — somehow, I guess his Booster Club thing — but he was always right outside the tunnel in high school. And before every game, before we’d run out of the tunnel, he’d just say, “Aim small, miss small.” So that’s something that I’ve kind of always carried on.

Q: What does “aim small, miss small” mean?

A: I don’t know if that’s like a marksman thing to say, you know, we’re big hunters. But I think it kind of translates to quarterback pretty well too, when you see a small target, it’s not just, “OK I see a receiver, I want to throw it.” I want to throw it on the patch on his jersey, or I want to throw it on the 1 on his chest, whatever it is, but you pick a smaller target, and then you’re going to miss smaller.

Q: Safe to say your dad won’t be waiting outside the tunnel Sunday?

A: (Smile) Yeah, yeah.

Q: But he’ll be there?

A: He will.

Q: How many family members?

A: Him, my mom and then my uncle will be there.

Bryce PettyPaul J. Bereswill

Q: What’s going on inside your gut during the national anthem?

A: It’s kind of funny. I think it’s a mixture of that continued focus, getting ready for … you know it’s almost like a “Braveheart” kind of thing. They play the national anthems before they go to war, it’s about to be a battle, and so you focus in, understand what’s about to happen, and then get ready to have some fun.

Q: You know Broadway Joe Namath, you’re familiar with his work?

A: I am, I am.

Q: Would Broadway Bryce, or since you’re from Texas, Barbecue Bryce be better?

A: Yeah yeah yeah. As fun as that question is (smile), let’s just get to San Francisco first. We’ll get through San Francisco, and then we’ll start talking about that. That is good, though, Barbecue Bryce is funny.

Q: What did you think when you first heard about Broadway Joe guaranteeing that Super Bowl III victory?

A: Well, you know today’s day and age, it’s kind of hard to guarantee things, just because people are always gonna continue to pull that up if it doesn’t happen. Hey, fortunately for him, it happened, that’s awesome, that’s very confident in himself and his team. But it’s kind of tough to do that nowadays.

Q: So if by some chance one day you get to a Super Bowl, is it safe to say you will not guarantee a Super Bowl win?

A: (Smile) Yeah, that’s not going to be something that I’ll guarantee.

Q: How helpful have the added reps been?

A: The reps are huge. I’m a rep guy. You can only do so much when you’re a backup and you get two reps at practice or six reps at practice whatever. So to be able to get a game plan on Wednesday morning, and be able to execute it Wednesday at practice, Thursday at practice, you’re looking at it constantly, and then you get to see and write down things that you’ve done and that you’ve seen, it’s huge, you know? It’s just been a big benefit for me this week, and even going back to L.A., like I just feel like I get better every time I’m in there, and the only way that I get better is being in there, I know that sounds dumb, but …

Q: You got engaged during the bye week. Tell me about your fiancée.

A: Jordan, she’s awesome. We met at my best friend’s wedding, she sang at the wedding. We were about to go head to the rehearsal dinner, and then she got on stage and starting singing, and that was it, I was done (smile). The crazy part is I waited in the buffet line, which never happens normally.

Q: Yeah right.

A: (Smile) Yeah exactly. To try and talk to her, and I kind of like choreographed it where she was going, I was kind of going. And then, somehow, some way, we just kind of ended up hitting it off, and it’s been great ever since.

A: The ring was like upside down. I was more nervous at that point in time than I was the entire Rams game, I was more nervous at that point than I was my entire life. I might have even picked up the wrong hand. It was bad, I was flustered.

Q: You choked.

A: (Laugh) Yeah, definitely. I had like this whole little speech planned out that I was going to do, and it all went out the window. But it just like happened.

Q: Have you set a date?

A: July 8.

Q: Why is she the right one for you?

A: Man, that’s a great question. As soon as you look at her you just feel good about yourself. I don’t know, it’s kind of a weird deal. … And she’s so humble. … I don’t want to come across as like, “Oh, I’m marrying her because she doesn’t care that I’m a football player.” But, at the same time, like she had no idea who I was. And it was awesome (smile). It was great for me. I’m not a big deal at all, but sometimes that’s like some of the most attractive thing about somebody is when they could care less about what you do, it’s more about who you are. We hit it off, and it’s been great ever since.

Q: Did she go to Baylor?

A: She went to [Texas] Tech.

Q: You’re OK with that?

A: It’s taken some getting used to. I told her there will not be any Red Raider stuff in our house. It can be in the garage, in a closet of the garage, but it’s not gonna be in our house, so we’ll see how that goes (smile).

Q: So how fat and out of shape were you last year?

A: Jordan saw that [Brandon Marshall] quote, and she was like, “I just started dying laughing.” I was like, “Hey, I don’t know, I guess I was fat. I don’t know.” (Smile). You know what? The good thing is, we’ve changed now, apparently. Got abs now, apparently.

Q: Did you bust his chops for saying that?

A: No, he really thought I was fat.

Q: How are you going to handle him when he thinks he’s open on every play?

A: I haven’t gotten to that point yet of understanding that quarterback-receiver relationship. Because at Baylor, I never really dealt with it. And even here, it’s been a game, it’s been a half. But, at the same time, I think it kind of goes back to you have to facilitate each person differently. So like, in Brandon’s case, he’s very passionate about football. He’s very passionate about the fact that he can change the game. And, he can. The guy is a freak physically. He’s an unbelievable talent outside. And so, I think I respect that in him, to know like where it’s coming from. I think there’s certain things that we can all work on how to communicate that (laugh). But I think it’s going to be great. I’ve been on the sidelines and I’ve kind of seen how [Ryan Fitzpatrick] has dealt with it, and what works and what doesn’t.